Once upon a time, there lived a boy named James. He was very enthusiastic, athletic and had a very sharp mind. Even though he was almost an all-rounder, he was most popularly known for his key feature- his sparkling blue eyes. His eyes were as blue as the ocean, and whenever he would step out in the daylight, his eyes would shine like the ocean glistening under sunlight. He always caught the eyes of the crowd with his ocean eyes and slowly gained maximum fame because of it. In his family, there was- his mother, his father and his little sister,
Sarah. James and Sarah were very close siblings, they shared everything with each other and always supported each other no matter what. James was academically brilliant and was also very good in athletics. He was also very popular in his class and had a large friend circle, leading to much laughter and joy during his school hours. He was very friendly and thus got his way with almost everyone he had to meet everyday.
However, at the age of 14, James’ father had to transfer to another country due to work-related commitments. This ultimately led to their whole family transferring to the new area, forcing James and Sarah to quit their old school. Once they were settled in, the two siblings were enrolled in a new school named ‘Bluelock Highschool’. James was initially a bit upset about having to leave his old friends but equally eager to make new ones along the way. He had already made two very close friends over the first few days of the semester- Ron and Oliver. One day, it was their mathematics class test. Everyone had settled down beside their assigned seat-mates and as soon as the teacher started noting the questions down on the board, everyone hurriedly scribbled them onto the paper. However, James was not clearly able to see all the questions. But as it was a supposed test, he couldn’t ask for help from even his seat-mate! He had struggled for almost half-an-hour, which only gave him the next ten minutes to finish the ten questions.
The realization that he had only one minute to solve each equation hit him like a freight train and he quickly solved as many problems as he could. Once he returned home, he reached out to his parents about the matter. His parents neglected the negative possibilities and tried to calm the frightened boy down by explaining that this problem was occurring due to his seat being at the back and that they will talk to his class teacher to change his seat. Soon, James’ class teacher shifted James’ seat from the back to the third bench, but the problem kept persisting.
His condition grew worse by the passing days and close to the point of seeing almost nothing but a blurry piece of scribbling on the board. James finally mustered up courage and decided to take matters in his own hands, as he knew reaching out to his parents would be of no use. He also asked his sister for help, considering that she was indeed interested in Ophthalmology. His sister had heard James and had concluded that all his signs add up to the possibility of him growing into partial blindness, laced with an audible concern in her voice. The thought of becoming blind scared James, the mere thought of even being able to only sense objects but not see them clearly made his body tremble and shiver in fear and led his hands to growing ice-cold and numb in horror. He immediately consulted the web, and his jaws dropped when he saw the same thing written there. The words ‘Partial Blindness’ burned into his very brain, leading him to always stay frightened and frustrated. His sister had talked to their parents and only then, they took James’ condition seriously and decided to visit an ophthalmologist.
The ophthalmologist studied his signs and came to the result that sooner or later, James will indeed go partially blind. He also told the family that if they had consulted treatment facilities a bit sooner, James could have gotten a possible full recovery. This fact made James’ parents hearts shatter into a million pieces due to getting stabbed by the dagger of guilt, grief and horror as they knew they were the ones who had ignored the signs. The doctor also advised to help James learn writing in an aligned manner without the need to clearly be able to see his writing which will help him when that unfortunate and dreadful moment will take place. James was completely heartbroken- How could he possibly top in class without the ability to even properly read anything without external support?
What about his athletic feats? Will he just let his talents and ambitions go to waste? “No, this can’t be. This is just an awful nightmare!” James thought to himself, but deep down he knew he couldn’t fool himself. He knew all of it was real in his very presence of being. But he also knew that no matter what, he’ll succeed one way or another. He was determined to chase his ambitions, no matter how exhaustively he had to practice for he was not scared of working hard and tirelessly. The next day when he went to school, everyone was shocked by the breaking news. The news spread like wildfire that James, the boy who had the prettiest eyes was about to lose their value forever! James initially felt ashamed, even though he knew it wasn’t his fault, but he soon overcame it with the love and support provided by his best friends Ron and Oliver.
The first semester exams were knocking on the door, which made James equally nervous and frightened but also somewhat heightened his anticipation of testing his skills. Soon, the day of the first exam approached. It was his favourite subject, English. However, when he gathered all the study materials to sit down and start his study sessions, alas! His English book was nowhere to be seen!
He quickly contacted his seat-mate and it turned out that he accidentally took James’ English book to his dwelling! This led James’ behaviour to grow into a manic frustration and nervousness. His anxiety built into a fever pitch by the passing minutes. While he was listening to the lecturing of his father, an idea came into his mind. He quickly called Ron for help. Ron agreed and came to James’ dorm to provide him with his own book.
“B-but I asked for a copy of the book. How will you study now?” James asked with curiosity. “Oh, don’t worry! I have my brother’s old book at my home, I can read from there!” Ron reassured James and left. James and his parents were equally impressed and grateful towards the selfless act of the boy.
James did face some difficulty in the exams, but the training and practice did pay off as he got straight A’s in all the subjects! His parents were extremely proud of him, but the thing which mattered most was to see the smile of sheer joy on his sister, the person who has always been on his side’s face.
Just before the winter vacation, their school planned to arrange an annual sports day.
It was a really big event which showcased the school’s history and legacy, as the school had been awarded ‘Best Annual Sports Day Celebration’ multiple times in a row. Even though James was a really good athlete, he was scared to approach the teacher because he thought that he would be nothing but a total failure due to his partial blindness. However, he knew his best friend Oliver was a really good athlete and had his own team. He was hesitant to reach out to him at
first, but after procrastinating a lot he finally followed his heart. He talked to Oliver and asked if he could help him regain his confidence and take him in the team. Oliver asked James to display his skills and a normal sprint around the whole track in only one minute. And to his surprise, James did it in only fifty-five seconds! Oliver was even more impressed by seeing how smoothly James could do a baton exchange, indicating he could participate in the group relay race. After seeing some of the tricks James had up his sleeves, Oliver promised James that he was going to train him, guide him and enroll him in their group. James trained exhaustively hard for the final day, regaining his confidence and composure while on the field.
Even though the other few group members were not really happy with James being on their team, seeing his incredible skills in front of their own eyes, they completely stopped whining about it.
The day finally arrived. Everyone was extremely excited and the air was heavy with anticipation and mystery. James and his team on the other hand, were extremely calm and composed. They didn’t rush anything, and they knew deep down that they had practiced hard enough to win a prize and their efforts were what mattered to them the most.
Finally, the teams for the relay race assembled. There was the eagle team, the parrot team, the macaw team and the capybara team. Among all the teams, James was in the Eagle team. Soon, they took their positions in the field. Unfortunately, the first athlete had a late start but he did manage to pass the baton to the next sprinter, who raised their position from last to being third. Then, it was Oliver’s turn. Oliver tried his best, but he couldn’t help to overtake the other players. Meanwhile, James in the anchor leg realised that if they wanted to have a prize, then he had to give his best and run faster than ever before.
As soon as the baton came into his hands, he unleashed the pent-up longing and competitive spirit. When the race was about to come to end, it was a battle between the Eagle team and the Parrot team. However, James could sense nothing but the wind passing by his sides in a swoosh and the unquenchable thirst to win the race. James’
determination fuelled his speed which ultimately led to him overtaking the athlete of the Parrot club and claiming first prize! All his teammates and the supporters of Eagle club burst into cheers as soon as it was declared that Eagle club will be raising the trophy. Out of honour and respect, James was given the opportunity to hold the trophy. That day, James had proved that if someone is really determined to do something, they won’t try to find an excuse, they will try their best and prove all the people wrong who had demotivated them.
